Last week we broke the news of a mining company which had no environment permit and mining lease and yet was operating in Akyem Abuakwa Juaso off the Osino Junction on the Accra-Kumasi highway in the Eastern Region. The said company in our news item was Solar Mining Company, a company owned by Mr S.O. Lamptey.
And without license and a mining lease Solar mining has been mining gold in the area for almost two years. How this is possible can best be explained by mining regulatory agencies such as the Environment Protection Agency (EPA) and the Minerals Commission. Indeed the papers’ publication established the fact that Solar mining was not the only mining company operating in the region without a license.
This was corroborated by the owner of Solar mining who in a telephone interview with Today disclosed and confirmed that there are over 1,000 mining companies operating illegally in the Eastern region. What we at Today find it hard to understand is why EPA and Minerals Commission are not checking mining companies without licenses.
At best we are compelled to describe the EPA as a paper tiger which only exist as an institution in our law books. Our description is premised on the grounds that the institution has not been able to act when it comes to taking punitive actions against mining companies which violate Ghana’s mining laws with impunity.
We are tempted to further add as a result of their inability to act it has offered enough grounds for all manner of mining companies without permit to spring up and operate in the country. And the effects of their illegal activities are the wanton destruction of the environment.
The case of Solar mining is a clear indication of the ineffectiveness of many of our regulatory agencies. The EPA has no excuse to tell Ghanaians that they are unaware of the mining activities of Solar mining. In our opinion, it is more like they know and have kept a blind eye for reasons best known to them only.
Indeed, it is sad to see the kind of damage caused to our environment by illegal mining companies. Such companies normally operate under the guise of creating jobs and wealth for the indigenes of mining communities. But, we are all aware that what they offer to the local people is nothing more than naked exploitation whereas they in turn make huge profits.
More importantly, the activities of illegal mining companies, and because they do not employ good mining practices in their operations have resulted in the creation of pits which have become death traps. It is against this background that Today is calling on EPA and other regulatory agencies in the mining sector to assert themselves and take more stringent measures to prosecute mining companies which operate without permits and licenses.
And to begin with this Today thinks that Solar mining is a test case for EPA. The paper will closely be watching what action the EPA and the Minerals Commission will be taking against Solar mining.
